What Missions Is All About

This is Post #2 about missions. See Post #1 here.

Why do we do missions? What is the point of spending years - decades even - laboring to take the gospel to the nations and build a church where there is none?

Missions is not about doing good things for others. It is not about giving peoples things they don't have. It is not about sparing people from hell. It is not about doing what Jesus told us to do. These are all great things, and they are all vital to our missionary efforts. But they are not the end - only a means to an end. So what is missions all about?

It's about worship.

John Piper says it better than anyone I've heard say it (outside of the Bible at least):

Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn't. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man. When this age is over, and the countless millions of the redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of God, missions will be no more. It is a temporary necessity. But worship abides forever. ~John Piper, Let the Nations Be Glad

Missions won't be around forever, but worship will. We see this in the book of Revelation, when missions has ended:

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands,10 and crying out with a loud voice, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!" (Revelation 7:9-10)

So when the nations have come, when there some from "all tribes and peoples and langauges" have come, we won't find them doing kind things for others. We don't see them rescuing people from hell. We see them worshiping. This is indeed what we were created to do.

My friend at A Boy and His God summed it up well after he visited Stonehenge:

Mankind was created to worship. What we choose to worship is up to us. Worship like the druids and praise the sun, moon and stars. Worship like the Hindu, a god for every aspect of life. Worship like the entrepreneur and live for money. Worship like the athlete and live for glory. Worship like the atheist, who worships himself.

But we were created to worship our Creator.

Romans 1 tells us that the fundamental sin of the nations (and every person) is the exchange of the "glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things" (v23). Basically, we are condemned because we worship things other than God. Some people worship a concept of God that is not the true God of the Bible (Romans 1:25). These are all forms of idolatry.

So when we do missions, we are calling people to turn "from idols to serve the living and true God" (1 Thessalonians 1:9).

And when we enter in to true worship of the true God, we find gladness and joy Consider Psalm 67:4-5: "Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equityand guide the nations upon earth.5 Let the peoples praise you, O God;let all the peoples praise you!"

King David sums up the call of missions very well in 1 Chronicles 16:

23 Sing to the Lord, all the earth!
Tell of his salvation from day to day.
24 Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples!
25 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,
and he is to be held in awe above all gods.
26 For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.
27 Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength and joy are in his place.

The call of missions is a call to worship. It is a call to turn away from worthless idols to the true God and to find delight in him alone. So let's call the nations to eternal gladness in the immortal God!

How do you see worship as the goal of missions? How does worship fuel your desire to do missions? How can you partner with God in bringing the nations to worship him?

What Are You Waiting For?

Many in the early church were left scratching their heads at why God had yet to establish the kingdom on earth. "Where is the promise of his coming?" some would ask mockingly (2 Peter 3:4). After all, at the time of Peter's writing, over 30 years had passed since Christ ascended to heaven. They couldn't help but wonder, "God, what are you waiting for? Let's get this kingdom thing on!"

Two thousand years later, many do the same thing. We have websites with indexes that help us know when the "signs of the times" are being fulfilled. Occasionally we see street preachers with signs blaring "The End Is Nigh! Repent!" We have songs of people ready to get caught up in the sky with the Lord. And naturally some are asking the same question: "Lord, what are you waiting for?"

Peter's answer then and God's answer to us today: "The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance" (2 Peter 3:9). Peter then goes on to challenge his readers to live "lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God" (2 Peter 3:11-12). He basicall tells them to speed up his coming.

How Do We Hasten His Coming?
Did you know that we do have a direct part in bringing about the end of the world? Peter hints at it by telling us to hasten the day. But Jesus makes it crystal clear when he says: "And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come" (Matthew 24:14).

This is the work of missions: taking the gospel to the nations. To those who have never heard. To those who are hopeless and without God (Ephesians 2:12). Jesus tells his disciples (and us) "that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations" (Luke 24:47).

The Work of Missions Is Not Done
So if the kingdom's coming on earth hinges on carrying the gospel to the nations, then why hasn't the end come? After all, there are Christians in every country, right? Well, the easy answer is that the work is not done.

The biblical understanding of "nations" is not political and geographical boundaries. In fact, it is better understood as "people groups." Consider also the picture from Revelation 7, where John sees "a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages" all joined together and praising God (Revelation 7:9-10). Here we see that it is not just political boundaries that God cares about, but tribal and lingual boundaries as well.

The work is far from over. Check out the following statistics from Joshua Project:
# of People Groups: 16,465
# Unreached People Groups: 6,759
% Unreached: 41.1%

What Are YOU Waiting For?
So let me turn the question back on us. We are asking "What are you waiting for, God?" and he responds by saying, "Charles What are YOU waiting for? I desire worship from all the peoples, and yet so many have not yet heard. I desire them to come to repentance, not to perish without me." That's one reason why I am going to Peru this summer.

How can you be involved in taking the gospel to all peoples?

How You Can Help Take the Gospel to Peru

This week, I just want to let you know about an exciting opportunity coming up for me, and I wanted to let you know how you can help me as I seek to do my part in fulfilling the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20).

On July 30, I will be departing with a team from my church to Peru for a nine-day mission trip. We will be going to the Andes Mountains, to the city of Huaraz, where we will be assisting Larry Rockwell and his family as they work with the Quechua tribe, a people who have heard very little of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Quechua tribe in 2008 just had the New Testament translated into their language. We will be doing some work with the villagers and will also be serving the Rockwell’s in additional ways they might need us. We will return on August 7.

Without your support (both through prayers and through giving), none of this will be possible.

You can support us by praying for us while we are gone. Some things that our team is asking your prayers for:

• Cohesiveness of the team – that we would all be in unity and work together well.
• A vision and heart for missions, especially for the people we will be serving.
• Transformed hearts the Quechua villages where we will be serving.
• Fund raising – that God would provide everything that we need as we plan to go.

Our trip is being funded by donations and by those who are going on the trip. We will be carrying all of the supplies needed for our time there. The estimated cost is around $2000, and I could use your help in raising this amount by July 22.

If you would like to give financial support:

Please send a check payable to "Westminster Presbyterian Church." For the memo line, write "Peru: Charles R. Higham." You can mail the check to:

Westminster Presbyterian Church, 230 Alice Dr., Sumter, SC 29150

If You Want to Follow the Law...Throw Out Your Bacon!

I got involved with a discussion on-line where someone was criticizing Rick Warren because of his "unbiblical" view of homosexuality. Apparently, not equating homosexuality with rape, incest and pedophilia is unbiblical. Anyway, in response, one man wrote "If our country had just laws they would put to death people who practiced any of the three." He goes on to say that if we don't support such laws, then we don't believe that God's law is just. So I decided to put Deuteronomy 21:18-21 to the test, and (surprisingly) he agreed that the government should put the "bad cases" of rebellious children to death.

So if the OT Law is meant to be the norm for every government, what does that mean? Well, dietary restrictions should be enforced (meaning you're in BIG trouble if you like bacon). Oh and the sacrificial system should be restored, for after all, it is God's law, and it is just. Basically, if you've ever sinned, you're screwed.

Paul tells the Galatians: "I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law" (Galatians 5:3). Paul's point is that, by embracing as ideal and required one element of the law, you must then embrace it all. But the whole message to the Galatians is that in Christ we are free from the law!

So then who are we to impose those same laws as the norm for government? Our founding fathers were right to call for the separation of Church and State. How many millions of people would have to be executed each year because they are unable to keep the Law? And we're supposed to say that they deserve to die? I'm having a huge problem with this line of thinking.

Should our government have just laws? Yes. Should our government have laws that protect the weak and punish the criminal? Yes. But should the death penalty be applied to everything?

When the religious law enforcement of Jesus' time brought him a woman caught in adultery, what did Jesus say should happen to her? They were ready to stone her. But did Jesus give them a green light? Not hardly. "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her" (John 8:7). Jesus takes us to the heart of the matter: yes sin is horrible and grievous (notice that he didn't say she deserved to live...), but in our fallen and broken state, all of us deserve death and therefore don't have the right to pass such judgment on others.

How long would you survive if the Old Testament Law was in place as the law of the land? How do we balance the need for justice with the need for grace? Should we support the death of anyone?

Resting in the Arms of a Huge God

I found out today that my bank, due to "suspicious" activity on my account, has turned off (or, as they put it, "placed restrictions") on my Check card. It's a minor problem, but there have been lots of little things over the past three days that have served to really cause me to be frustrated. I've come to determine that if I didn't believe in the hugeness of God, I wouldn't have made it until now.

The words "Huge God" aren't just something clever I came up with for the title of this blog. They were carefully selected. I wanted something to capture the absolute bigness of God. And, yes, "huge" is a feeble attempt to capture his bigness. My understanding of God has grown considerably from when I first believed. Back then, he was a disciplinarian who was ready to cut me off if I did X sin "one more time." He was a kind of cosmic Santa, keeping track of my good deeds and bad deeds. And he was still distant - out there somewhere, not intimately involved in my life.

But as I have grown in my understanding of God and his ways, I've seen the true side of him (or at least as true as I can comprehend right now). He's not a harsh disciplinarian; he is a loving Father who will, when necessary, discipline his children (Hebrews 12:4-11). He's not distant and uninvolved, but very much connected to his creation and to us, his people.

But the greatest thing that I have learned about God over the years is that he is HUGE! When I was a child, I learned (like you may have) the song "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands." But do you know what I've learned? He doesn't have the whole world in his hands. Consider with me God's description of himself through Isaiah:

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance?...He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in. (Isaiah 40:12, 22, NIV)

Here, God says that he spread the heavens (universe) out like a curtain. And do you know how he measures the universe? The span of his hand. It's kind of like saying that "He's Got the Whole Universe in his HAND." Now I realize that this is poetic and the song is poetic and when we get right down to it, God doesn't literally have arms and hands (God is spirit - see John 4:24). But still, God lets us know that he is absolutely huge, and that he is absolutely in control.

God is announcing in this chapter that the nation of Judah is going to be destroyed. In the process, he reminds the people that he is in control, that he is God, unrivaled and unstoppable. And how does he introduce this section? Look at Isaiah 40:1 - "Comfort, comfort my people says your God."

It is a comforting thing to know that God is in control, that even when tragedy happens, he is in charge and that he wants us to rest in him. So whether it's a turned off ATM card or some sort of abuse or suffering, God wants you to know that you are not beyond his reach. Take comfort in the arms of this HUGE GOD!

How has God shown you his might and comfort during difficult times in your life? Where would you be if you didn't think he was in control?

Sometimes You Fly, Sometimes You Run, and Sometimes You Just Take One Step at a Time

You know what verse I'm talking about already. It's one of the favorite encouragement verses. We engrave it in our Bibles, make posters of it, and I even saw someone with a tattoo...

And while that is all well and good, I just wonder if we've ever stopped to think about the WHOLE verse. Isaiah 40:31 reads "but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint."

The way I saw this verse changed in Bible college after hearing a great chapel message about it. And I hope that you will see it differently too. The man (whose name I have forgotten!!) pointed out that the three parts of this verse could be linked to three events in Israel's history:

1. "Wings like eagles" - God delivering Israel from the land of Egypt (cf. Exodus 19:4)
2. "Run and not be weary" - possibly a reference to Elijah outrunning Ahab's horses (1 Kings 18:41-46)
3. "Walk and not faint" - perhaps a prophecy of the coming exile, where Judah would be taken captive by Babylon (2 Kings 25)

Eagle's Wings - God's Miraculous Intervention
These are miracles. Perhaps healing from physical sickness. Solutions to seemingly insurmountable problems. These aren't everyday things. God intervenes where only God could intervene. Salvation in general is like this - God saves us when we are completely unable to save ourselves.

I recently had one of these "Eagle's Wings Interventions" happen to me. I'm not going to go into detail here, but let's just say God brought healing to an area of my life that had been a problem for 14 years. And it has been amazing. The grace and freedom I have experienced as a result is truly breath-taking. It's like soaring.

These may not happen to everyone, and they may not happen often. But when God delivers, it is exhilarating.

Running But Not Wearying
Sometimes God empowers us to do things we think we could not do. Share the gospel. Love others. Overcome some fear. And they are no less amazing. And they are more common. It works by God's empowering us to accomplish what he would have us do. Look at the book of Acts. Peter's preaching, the Church's boldness, and countless other examples. These were all God working his power through his people to accomplish his purpose.

Walking But Not Fainting
These are common to everyone. The death of a loved one. Terminal illness. Depression. Or just everyday struggles with our own sinfulness. These are the times when we feel abandoned, alone, or just forgotten.

This is probably common to daily life. Everyday problems and disappointments and failures, and we think we might never make it through. In fact, most of life is lived in the strength of "Walking but not fainting." But there is strength there nonetheless. Even when we think we can go one more step, we find the strength to take it anyway.

The Key: Trusting in the Lord
The key to accessing any type of this strength lies in where we have put our trust. If we trust in man or man's ways, then we will not see any of these types of God's intervention. But if our hope is in God, then he will come through. He may not do it in the way that we like, but he will bring us through.

So when you set out to encourage others or even encourage yourself, look for how God might be bringing others or you through. Maybe he'll give you an eagle's wings deliverance, maybe he'll help you take the next step and not fall apart. But look for and hope in him. He will deliver you.

How have you seen God at work in your own life? What have you learned from God's different means of delivering you through the hard times?

Why I Don't Care Anymore...And Neither Should You!

Our culture is just screwed up. And I used to think that there was something wrong with me.

After I watched Braveheart and The Bourne Identity for the first time, I heard a friend of mine telling his friend on the phone that we was "manning" me up. So, let me get this straight: I was somehow less of a man because I had never gotten around to watching these movies?

Somehow, somewhere, we've been lied to. Society seems to have a very refined definition of a man. John Rambo. William Wallace. James Bond. Jason Bourne. Macho tough guys who save the day and get the girl(s) in the end. In the real world, this means that if you don't do some approved "man" activity, you are somehow less of a man. Did a committee sit down and decide "These are the marks of manhood?"

Seriously, guys who don't play sports or shoot guns or go to NASCAR or football games or whatever - well they're looked down upon. I was one of these guys. I didn't like sports - I somehow got bypassed on the athletic gene. I'm not competitive at all. I'll watch sports, but I'd much rather sit down and have a good conversation at (insert restaurant here). I love to read. I don't mind getting dirty, but I don't like to get dirty.

And I was often ridiculed for it. Imagine what it does to a young boy to hear that he is a "sissy," "wimp," or worse (I've been called every name there is to be called). All I could respond was "there must be something wrong with me." And so the process of self-hatred began. I have struggled for years with a sense of my "lack" of "manhood" - at least by the world's definition.

But recently I have come to understand things differently. God doesn't make only John Rambo or Jason Bourne kind of men. Men who are rough and tough and don't take no crap off nobody. He also made men who are gentle - who can comfort someone who's hurting, who'll take a small child in his arms when everyone else is annoyed by them, who will give himself in service to others. Don't believe me? Look at Jesus. He embodied all of these characteristics: he is after all the Lion (Revelation 5:5 - strong, fierce, wild) and the Lamb (Revelation 5:6 - gentle, kind, weak).

Recently, while painting a stencil pattern on my grandma's patio, I realized something: I felt good doing this. I didn't feel weak or insecure. I felt confident. In fact, I was even enjoying myself. Now I realize that painting stencils isn't a very manly thing in the eyes of our society, but I've now realized that I just don't care. If you want to belittle me for not doing the right "manly" things, then you are clearly the one with the problem.

So I've stopped caring what other "manly" men think of me. And if you're a man that doesn't fit this society's definition, you shouldn't care either. Stop caring what others think of you. You will truly be a man when you embrace the type of man that God created you to be.

What do you think makes a man a man? What's wrong with men being sensitive? Why do you think this way? What can you do to change your perception and treatment of other men who may not fit your view of manhood?